Rense.com
US Orders 40 Million Doses
Of Smallpox Vaccine
For $343 Million
| LONDON (Reuters) - Acambis Plc,
the British biotechnology company charged with developing a new smallpox
vaccine for the United States, said on Thursday it expected to begin clinical
trials on the drug early next year. Attention has focused on U.S. vulnerability to biological attack since hijackers slammed passenger aircraft into New York and Washington last week, killing thousands. The atrocity has given new urgency to Acambis's work to make a smallpox vaccine that meets modern safety standards, more than 20 years after the deadly disease was officially eradicated. "A major effort is underway on this contract, with around one-fifth of our 100 research and development staff committed to the project," said Acambis Chief Executive John Brown. Later this year the firm will apply to U.S. regulators for permission to start clinical trials in early 2002. Acambis had aimed to deliver the first doses of vaccine in 2004, but Brown said the process could now be speeded up. "We will do anything we can to meet this important requirement," he told Reuters in an interview. Scientists say smallpox and anthrax pose the biggest germ- warfare threats, but only the highly contagious smallpox virus has the potential to blow up into a worldwide plague. The disease -- a deadly blistering of the skin accompanied by pain and fever -- was wiped out in 1979 after a vaccination programme, but military strategists are concerned that virus samples produced in the Soviet Union during the Cold War could fall into the hands of militant groups or rogue states. The original smallpox vaccine, which has its origins in the 18th century, was simply a dose of the cattle disease cowpox that appeared to give smallpox immunity to dairy maids who contracted the lesser pox from infected cows. Cultivated in calves, the old vaccine hardly meets modern safety requirements, and could be kept for only 18 months. The Acambis vaccine should have a shelf-life of five years. Under the 20-year contract with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Acambis will deliver an initial 40 million doses of the vaccine. The deal is worth an estimated $343 million to the small, Cambridge-based firm. Andrew Forsyth, biotechnology analyst at stockbroker Williams de Broe, said the U.S. government may decide to buy in more vaccine to protect its people against attack. Acambis shares have defied stock market gloom since the attacks on the United States. On Thursday they were 4.84 percent higher at 128-3/4 pence, compared with 113 pence on September 11. WEST NILE VIRUS Acambis also said it had identified a potential vaccine against the deadly, mosquito-borne West Nile Virus that has invaded North America in recent years. It said it expects to start a clinical trial in 2002, meaning the drug could be on the market in three or four years. The sickness, which can lead to inflammation of the brain and strikes the elderly and people with weak immune systems, first appeared in the New York City area then spread along the east coast. That research is also being funded by a U.S. government grant. Acambis reported success in a Phase II trial of a vaccine for Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral disease prevalent in Asia. Drugs have to undergo three phases of trials before they get regulatory approval. Acambis reported a net loss of 5.5 million pounds ($8.06 million) in the six months to June 30, unchanged from last year. |
MainPage
http://www.rense.com
This Site Served by TheHostPros